I got home from the hospital at about 2:00am this morning. My mom was finally transferred to a room in neuroligic ICU. In addition to the stroke, she may have had a heart attack as well. The doctor said that her heart had to work so hard today that there is some damage.
She was breathing irregularly last night, so the doctors made the decision to intubate her as a temporary measure to help regulate her breathing. They also put in special IVs to monitor blood pressure, and also so they would be able to give her different kinds of medicine.
The next few days are going to be very crucial. They don't know how bad the damage is going to be, and the doctor said that there most likely is going to be permanent damage.
One thing that has been very difficult in this is discussion of a living will. Every doctor we've encountered (and there's been about a half dozen of them) has repeatedly asked us about a living will, and what my mother's wishes would be. My mother doesn't have a living will, and we never really discussed it with my mom. My dad (who had surgery for lung cancer in September and is not doing great himself) has pretty much shut himself out of this situation. So, now my sibilings and I have to discuss making a decision that none of us is really prepared to make. I mean, how do you decide something like this? How do you balance between not wanting to give up on her, and not wanting her to suffer? I guess we really just have to pool our faith in God together, and trust in Him to lead us to the right decision.
Thank you, everyone, for your continued thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate it.
Karen
